LAUNDRY SESSIONS
The Lazy Tones
Released 2024
Record Label El Toro RECORDS
Reviewed date 25/07/24
The Lazy Tones hail from Valencia in Spain and their latest release The Laundry sessions follows on from 2016s Juke Joint Bound.
This six-track release is solid RnB it’s all Jimmy Reed and Chicago blues. Great vocals and harp playing and overall, a top band. It has that old style recording sound but in a modern way. so, it's crystal clear and has good depth.
The raw and electrified sound of the band that hail from the Valencian (Spain) blues scene are a pleasure to listen to. The musicians on this release have the experience that only comes from years of extensively touring together.
Laundry Sessions was recorded and mixed by Mike Mariconda and it offers a mix of the band's originals with covers of Jimmy Rogers and Jimmy Reed among others captured in the period style.
Members of the Band
Peter Gun: Guitar and vocal
Jorge Gener: Harmonica
Tonete Puerto: Upright Bass
Jesús López: Drums
Track by track Review
01 LEND ME MY TRAIN FARE
I think this track is a cover of Loan Me Train Fare by Mississippi Heat that was featured on the 1995 album Thunder in My Heart. The roots here are more recent than some of the other tracks on this release.
This version is a cool journey down the tracks with the sad story of no money and a broken heart and no doubt some hooch stashed in your luggage. All aboard!
02 My Blame
The twangy descending guitar hook starts this darker slice of RnB magic. It's a really good self penned track and I hope the Lazy Tones add more of their own to their repertoire as they have the knack on this track.
03 Look A Here
This is a good instrumental cover version of the Jimmy Rodgers song from the 1950s. It shows off the talents of the band and is a real nice version to boogie along with.
04 Natural Born Lover
This is another solid cover , this time of Jimmy Reed’s original from the early sixties. It has all that honking harp and bumping guitar so famous for its sound.I like the swing that’s in this track.
05 Sloppy Drunk
A nice stomper all about the devil’s juice and the ill fates that befall us all if we dabble to much 🙂 The 40’s /50’s slang is sloopy drunk but I reckon since the original Jimmy Rogers release in 1954 it has been changed to sloppy , even before autocorrect text was invented!
06 Baby Please don't go
Cover of the classic with great rhythm and drive. The track has a good feeling that makes you want to tap your feet and grab some space on the dancefloor. For a song that has been covered more times than most this take is really good and rounds off the mini album nicely
Summary
I really liked listening to this mini album. All the tracks sound great and the band are excellent musicians. The experience they have playing together helps make this release a fun and high quality release. My one hope is that they work on some more original numbers as they have a really good vibe and I for one am always a sucker for Chicago and Delta blues influenced music.
Recommendation
I would recommend this mini album to anyone who likes old school RnB , so if you're born under a bad sign or left drunk in a smokey juke joint with no money, no woman/man/other other members of the human race this is for you. Recorded and played with authenticity. Enjoy
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Reviewed By Ed Razor
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